Posts Tagged "gift ideas"

Yesterday was my dear friend, Ashley’s, birthday and so I thought what better way to celebrate than with a cupcake? Of course, I already bought her gift of earrings on my trip this last summer to Peru, so I went for the next best thing — a cupcake gift box.

Customize the colors, add a little sparkle and a cherry, and you have yourself a super fun way to dress up a birthday gift.

Here’s what you need:

1 cupcake box (or a few if you want to make several for friends)

2 shades of acrylic pant (the cheap kind will do)

1 small bottle of glitter

red cotton ball for the cherry

clear-drying glue

I found these cupcake boxes at my local Joanne’s, though they may have them at other craft stores. Next I put down some newspaper and painted them in the desired colors. It took about three coats for the colored and four coats for the white. Take the top and lightly paint it with a thin coat of glue. Hold over a paper plate and immediately sprinkle with glitter, ensuring it stays on the surface. Let dry for 30-60 minutes.

Add a big daub of glue to the bottom of the cotton cherry and press it firmly to the top of the cupcake top.

Let dry overnight, or follow the drying directions of your glue and paint. Add in your little gifts, and voila!

It feels wrong to make white chocolate popcorn without Ashley Bunk. Now if you don’t know Ashley (that’s too bad, because she’s awesome), she was my partner on our previous blog, Everyday Inspirations. Back in the day when we still worked together, we both needed to use our vacation or lose it before the end of the year, so this one day in December we decided to take the day off, have a Harry Potter movie marathon and make white chocolate popcorn. Now we only made it through Chamber of Secrets, but we did succeed in making what we call “crack corn.” It’s white and super addicting. You get the idea.

Anyway, after that year it sort of became a little tradition, so this year making it without her wasn’t nearly as fun. However, I did figure out the perfect proportion of ingredients, which is something we switched up in every batch when we did it. These make super delicious DIY Christmas gifts, too.

White Chocolate Popcorn

To make the popcorn, I used my PowerPop Microwave Multi-Popper, which makes roughly 10-12 cups when full. This is about the same as two bags of plain microwave popcorn (but I highly recommend the popper, because it’s awesome). Put the popcorn in a very large bowl big enough to stir all of it in. Melt the white chocolate until smooth and stir in salt. Drizzle the white chocolate over the popcorn, then stir until all the popcorn is evenly coated. Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper (makes it easier to transport out of the way if you’re making several batches) and pour popcorn across the paper. Let it set for about 15-20 excruciating minutes, or until the chocolate has dried. Enjoy!

During the holiday season you get so many sweets, so I thought I’d do something a little different this year — infused vodka! After all, you need something to wash down those Russian tea cakes and perfectly frosted sugar cookies with something, right? I was inspired on Pinterest, but changed it up a bit to try my own version (as I’m notorious for doing).

Don't they look so pretty steeping?

The hardest part is I couldn’t taste test until a week later when there was no going back. Luckily, it turned out great and there’s even a little extra for me to enjoy. These make great gifts or are perfect for serving at your holiday party. And as luck would have it, the fruit I picked are red and green. Here’s how to make this holiday cheer.

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{Cranberry Lime Infused Vodka}

4 cups vodka 16 ounces of cranberries 2 limes 4 tablespoons sugar

In an pitcher or large, lidded container add vodka and washed cranberries together. I used some airtight pitchers from Costco that I use in the summer for iced coffee. Let it sit for 6 days, shaking or mixing the contents 3-4 times per day. On the sixth day squeeze the juice of two limes in and then add the remaining lime halves and shake it up. Let steep for 1-2 more days. You don’t want the lime in as long or it will overpower the cranberry flavor. On the seventh or eighth day, pour the contents into a bowl through a cheesecloth and/or a strainer. I actually used both, putting the cheesecloth on top of a strainer so nothing would come through. Stir in sugar until fully dissolved. Pour into airtight bottles or jars and store in the refrigerator. This recipe was enough to fill two, two-cup bottles for gifts. I added the cranberries into the bottle to look pretty, but if you give as gifts, make sure to tell them to remove these after a couple weeks or it can make your mixture bitter.

{Apple Cinnamon Infused Vodka}

In an pitcher or large, lidded container add vodka and washed cranberries together. Let it sit for 7 days, shaking or mixing the contents 3-4 times per day. On the last day, pour the contents into a bowl through a cheesecloth and/or a strainer. Stir in sugar until fully dissolved. Pour into airtight bottles or jars and store in the refrigerator. This recipe made two, two-cup bottles for gifts, but you can divide however you like. I cut a new apple and added a new cinnamon stick into the bottle to look pretty, but again, if you give as a gift, make sure to tell them to remove these after a couple weeks so they don’t ferment.
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Wrap these up with some ribbon and a cute tag and they are good to go. It’s like the gift that keeps on giving. Enjoy!